Japanese reconnaissance...

history · 23 August 1937 · 87 years ago

Japanese reconnaissance aircraft scouted Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, China at 1100 hours. At 1400 hours, 9 Type 92 attack aircraft and 3 Type 95 fighters of the Japanese 12th Air Fleet attacked Jiangyin with the purpose of drawing fire from the defenses; shortly after, 12 Type 94 bombers, 14 Type 96 bombers, and 8 carrier aircraft from Kaga attacked the primary target Chinese light cruiser Pinghai, scoring three bomb hits and sinking the ship in shallow waters. At 1400 hours, 38 Japanese aircraft attacked Ninghai from three directions, hitting the light cruiser three times, wounding Captain Chen Hongtai in the legs. Chen attempted to move Ninghai up river away from the action, but she gave in to her wounds near Bawei harbor, sinking by the stern in shallow waters. Ninghai suffered 62 casualties on this day, but claimed 4 Japanese aircraft shot down. 

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